
Sample of authors
Maugham, W. Somerset
William Somerset Maugham was a British author born in Paris. His father was a lawyer at the British Embassy there. When Maugham was eight years old, his mother died of tuberculosis, two years later his father died of cancer and the boy was sent to live with his uncle, the Vicar of Whitstable in Kent. Maugham suffered from a serious stammer, he was shy and avoided speaking in public; unlike his...

Sample of authors
Spillane, Mickey
The American author Frank Morrison Spillane was born in Brooklyn, New York, to an Irish Catholic father and Scottish Presbyterian mother. He was christened twice; Michael was his Catholic baptismal name. At school he was known as Morrison Spillane, and as an adult he took the name Mickey, which was his father’s nickname for him.
When he was still very young, the family moved to Elizabeth, New J...